1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a recording medium driving device which is classified as a so-called front loading type wherein an information recording medium is mounted on a mounting member jutting out toward the front surface of a device body, and more particulary, to a recording medium driving device suitable for an optical disk driving device.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
In an optical disk driving device, there is broadly adopted a method in which an optical disk is mounted on a tray that is protrudent toward the front surface of a device body, and the optical disk is led into the device body together with the tray so as to effect the recording and the reproduction. As one example, the present applicant disclosed an invention in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 23990/1985.
The outline of a conventional optical disk driving device relative to the above-described invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In FIGS. 26 to 29 inclusive, the optical disk driving device substantially consists of: a chasis 101; a covering member 103 equipped with a clamper 102 and axially so supported as to be rotatable round the chassis 101; a tray 104 mounted with an optical disk; and a tray driving mechanism 105 for leading the tray to the chasis 101 and arranging for the tray 104 to jut out from the chasis 101.
The tray driving mechanism 105 is constituted by: a gear train 107 engaging with a rack 106 which moves integrally with the tray 104; and a motor by which to drive the gear train 107, this tray driving mechanism 105 being provided on the side of feeding out the tray beneath the chassis 101. Freely rotatable rollers 108, 109 are axially supported by the rack 106. The externally disposed roller 109 is arranged to roll on the upper surface of the covering member 103. A supporting spindle 110 which axially and rotatably retains the rollers 108, 109 is attached to the above-mentioned rack 106 so that the supporting spindle is movable within a slot 111 formed in the side surface of the tray 104, this supporting spindle 110 being always so biased as to approach the center of the tray 104 by dint of a spring 112.
With this arrangement, when the motor, as illustrated in FIG. 26, rotates from a state in which the tray 104 is rendered protrudent (an inject-state) in the direction of load, the rack, as shown in FIG. 27, moves in the direction indicated by an arrowhead D, and the tray 104 also moves in the same direction indicated by the arrowhead D by dint of the spring 112. When the tray 104 is led to a loading position shown in FIG. 28, the tray 104 impinges upon a predetermined position of the chassis 101 and is hindered from moving in the direction of the arrowhead D. As a result, the rack 106 alone moves in the direction pointed by the arrowhead D, resisting a resilient force of the spring 112. In this process, the covering member 103 descends along the slope of a cam groove 113, and the descent of the covering member 103 is completed just when the above-described supporting spindle 110 reaches the end portion of the slot 111. At this time, an optical disk 114 is clamped between the clamper 102 and a turn table 115, thereby effecting a loading operation of the optical disk with respect to the turn table 115.
At the inject-time, the tray 104 is made to project by the above-described steps in the reversed order. After completing the protorusion of the tray, the optical disk 114 can be taken up from the tray 104.
In the thus constituted optical disk driving device, the rack 106 and the tray 104 are arranged to be integrally movable only by the resilient force of the spring 112. Hence, if the user holds the tray 104 or pulls the tray 104 out in the course of leading the tray 104 into the device body, the rack 106 alone reaches a predetermined position in spite of the fact that the tray 104 does not yet arrive at the predetermined position, this probably casuing such a malfunction that the clamper 102 is lowered.